Tony's Pizzeria/ December 2/ 5:26 PM
*****
The wind was colder than ever as Maureen pulled open the heavy glass door to Tony's and stepped inside to the glowing, fragrant warmth. She waited a moment for her eyes to adjust to the dimness and haze, and then noticed her father waving at her from a booth across the room.
"Hi, Dad," she said as she walked up, ready for his big bear hug. "Hi, Olivia," she said as they sat down.
"How's it going, Maureen?" replied her father's partner. Her words were the standard polite fare that Maureen expected, but she had forgotten the sincerity she always detected in Olivia. It had been awhile since they'd seen each other, but Maureen had always liked her and been glad her dad had a partner who seemed so capable and kind.
"Pretty good," she replied, smiling and unwinding the scarf from her neck. "I have finals coming up in a few weeks though and that's really going to suck."
Olivia laughed. "Boy, I'm glad I don't have to do THAT anymore," she said, opening the big colorful menu. "What are you studying?"
"Uhhhh," stalled Maureen, her eyes sliding over to Elliot. Her indecision about what to major in was becoming a point of contention. Plenty of people she knew were still undeclared, but her father already fretted so much about tuition that he kept urging her to get focused. "Well, I'm taking a poetry class, and a freshman history survey, and Spanish and drawing," she said.
"She DEFINES liberal arts," interjected Elliot, dryly. Maureen rolled her eyes.
Olivia laughed, though. "I think it's good to explore and experiment," she said. Interestingly, remembered Maureen, this was exactly what her mother said whenever she and Elliot had this particular argument.
Just then, the waiter came by and took their order, which was for an enormous pizza with so many toppings that Maureen wasn't sure how they were really going to eat it.
As he left, Elliot said pointedly, "Maureen's roommate, Tessa, is an English major." Maureen knew where this was going: Tessa had stayed with them over Thanksgiving and had, of course, been a model guest. Elliot had been delighted with her manners and her motivated and organized plans for her entire college career.
"Yeah," Maureen said, smiling in spite of herself. "He's hoping she'll rub off on me."
"Do you guys get along?" asked Olivia.
"Uh huh, she's awesome. She's from California. She studies too much, but usually on the weekends I can get her to loosen up."
Olivia found this amusing, but Elliot did not. In fact, he coughed a little and had a bit of trouble swallowing the sip of water he had just taken. Only the fact that he looked at Olivia's laughing face as he cleared his throat saved Maureen from having to answer questions about what, exactly, she did on the weekends to loosen up.
Just then, Olivia's phone rang. Deftly, she flipped it open. "Benson." She listened, her face taking on harder, tougher lines than the laughter of just a moment before. "They're at the scene? … Okay. Okay, call us again if we need to be there." She hung up. Elliot looked at her, a question he didn't want to ask in front of Maureen on his face. Olivia shook her head. "They won't know for awhile yet. They'll call us." Elliot nodded.
Maureen looked from one to the other. "Are you guys working on a case? Tonight?"
"Maybe tonight," said Elliot. "But don't worry, sweetheart. We've got plenty of time for dinner."
Conveniently, their pizza arrived right then, steaming and laden with toppings. "Yummmm," said Olivia appreciatively, and she and Elliot happily dug right in.
Maureen slid a slice onto her plate but felt herself being momentarily frozen by an unexpected but familiar hesitation. Unwelcome anxieties about eating had occasionally gripped her since high school, but she wasn't sure what the problem was now. Maybe it was just the pressure of college. She LIKED being small, and enjoyed the attention of the guys in her dorm and at parties. She just wished it didn't stress her out so much sometimes.
She looked up at her father and Olivia, both of whom were so busy with their cheesy, gooey slices that they hadn't yet noticed that she wasn't eating. Olivia had picked off the peppers from her pizza, and Elliot automatically reached over and appropriated them, sprinkling them over his slice. Olivia smiled at this, and Maureen suddenly noticed just how beautiful she was. She was strong and graceful, with glowing skin and lovely dancing eyes. And she was eating with gusto and pleasure.
Maureen ended up finishing two and a half pieces of pizza, and finally all three of them sat back, full and glad. "Maureen, when does Christmas break start for you, again?" asked Elliot, as he handed his card to the waiter.
"Two weeks from Thursday," replied Maureen, who had the moment she would be finished with finals circled and starred on her calendar.
"Are you going to come home anytime between now and then?"
"Maybe. Dickie and Liz have that Christmas play thing next weekend, remember? Mom wants me to come to that."
"Yeah, that would be nice," said Elliot, signing the receipt. They rose from the table.
"Thanks for dinner, Dad," said Maureen. "Nice to see you, Olivia."
Olivia smiled. "Good luck with your exams."
Elliot hugged Maureen again and rubbed her upper arms. "You should be wearing more clothes," he said. "You're going to freeze on the way home. Be careful."
She rolled her eyes and laughed. "I'll be fine, Dad." They headed outside and parted ways with another round of goodbyes. Maureen braced herself against the wind as she walked to the subway entrance. This time she had to wait a few minutes for her train, and she thought about her dad while she stood on the platform.
He was so protective, and always had been, she reflected. Especially of her, even more than Kathleen or the twins. When she was younger it had really been a pain, because it had been such a struggle to get any freedom. She knew part of it was being the oldest, but when she was about sixteen Kathy had pointed out that Elliot also couldn't help remembering how he'd felt about her when they were teenagers, and he figured boys were looking at Maureen, who looked so much like her mother, the same way.
He was probably right, she thought, although by now she knew she wasn't going to end up like them, stuck with a surprise baby before they even realized they'd arrived at the doorstep of adulthood.
Some of it had to be his job, she thought as she stepped onto the train and sat down in the orange plastic seat. A lot of her friends thought it was cool that her father was a police detective instead of something boring, but she read the papers – she knew some of the sick things Elliot was probably seeing every day.
Once during her senior year in high school she and her dad had been watching the news and there had been a top story about a serial rapist her dad's department had just caught, finally, in the park. They showed some pictures of some of his victims, including one young woman who was blonde and smiling. Maureen had been wishing the news would get to the weather because she had outside plans with her boyfriend for the weekend when she realized Elliot was staring down at her. She had been sitting with her head against his shoulder, and he was examining her face, his body tense. As Maureen left the subway station near her dorm, she remembered that she had laughed and made a joke about how he was creeping her out. But she still thought about it a lot.
*****
The wind was colder than ever as Maureen pulled open the heavy glass door to Tony's and stepped inside to the glowing, fragrant warmth. She waited a moment for her eyes to adjust to the dimness and haze, and then noticed her father waving at her from a booth across the room.
"Hi, Dad," she said as she walked up, ready for his big bear hug. "Hi, Olivia," she said as they sat down.
"How's it going, Maureen?" replied her father's partner. Her words were the standard polite fare that Maureen expected, but she had forgotten the sincerity she always detected in Olivia. It had been awhile since they'd seen each other, but Maureen had always liked her and been glad her dad had a partner who seemed so capable and kind.
"Pretty good," she replied, smiling and unwinding the scarf from her neck. "I have finals coming up in a few weeks though and that's really going to suck."
Olivia laughed. "Boy, I'm glad I don't have to do THAT anymore," she said, opening the big colorful menu. "What are you studying?"
"Uhhhh," stalled Maureen, her eyes sliding over to Elliot. Her indecision about what to major in was becoming a point of contention. Plenty of people she knew were still undeclared, but her father already fretted so much about tuition that he kept urging her to get focused. "Well, I'm taking a poetry class, and a freshman history survey, and Spanish and drawing," she said.
"She DEFINES liberal arts," interjected Elliot, dryly. Maureen rolled her eyes.
Olivia laughed, though. "I think it's good to explore and experiment," she said. Interestingly, remembered Maureen, this was exactly what her mother said whenever she and Elliot had this particular argument.
Just then, the waiter came by and took their order, which was for an enormous pizza with so many toppings that Maureen wasn't sure how they were really going to eat it.
As he left, Elliot said pointedly, "Maureen's roommate, Tessa, is an English major." Maureen knew where this was going: Tessa had stayed with them over Thanksgiving and had, of course, been a model guest. Elliot had been delighted with her manners and her motivated and organized plans for her entire college career.
"Yeah," Maureen said, smiling in spite of herself. "He's hoping she'll rub off on me."
"Do you guys get along?" asked Olivia.
"Uh huh, she's awesome. She's from California. She studies too much, but usually on the weekends I can get her to loosen up."
Olivia found this amusing, but Elliot did not. In fact, he coughed a little and had a bit of trouble swallowing the sip of water he had just taken. Only the fact that he looked at Olivia's laughing face as he cleared his throat saved Maureen from having to answer questions about what, exactly, she did on the weekends to loosen up.
Just then, Olivia's phone rang. Deftly, she flipped it open. "Benson." She listened, her face taking on harder, tougher lines than the laughter of just a moment before. "They're at the scene? … Okay. Okay, call us again if we need to be there." She hung up. Elliot looked at her, a question he didn't want to ask in front of Maureen on his face. Olivia shook her head. "They won't know for awhile yet. They'll call us." Elliot nodded.
Maureen looked from one to the other. "Are you guys working on a case? Tonight?"
"Maybe tonight," said Elliot. "But don't worry, sweetheart. We've got plenty of time for dinner."
Conveniently, their pizza arrived right then, steaming and laden with toppings. "Yummmm," said Olivia appreciatively, and she and Elliot happily dug right in.
Maureen slid a slice onto her plate but felt herself being momentarily frozen by an unexpected but familiar hesitation. Unwelcome anxieties about eating had occasionally gripped her since high school, but she wasn't sure what the problem was now. Maybe it was just the pressure of college. She LIKED being small, and enjoyed the attention of the guys in her dorm and at parties. She just wished it didn't stress her out so much sometimes.
She looked up at her father and Olivia, both of whom were so busy with their cheesy, gooey slices that they hadn't yet noticed that she wasn't eating. Olivia had picked off the peppers from her pizza, and Elliot automatically reached over and appropriated them, sprinkling them over his slice. Olivia smiled at this, and Maureen suddenly noticed just how beautiful she was. She was strong and graceful, with glowing skin and lovely dancing eyes. And she was eating with gusto and pleasure.
Maureen ended up finishing two and a half pieces of pizza, and finally all three of them sat back, full and glad. "Maureen, when does Christmas break start for you, again?" asked Elliot, as he handed his card to the waiter.
"Two weeks from Thursday," replied Maureen, who had the moment she would be finished with finals circled and starred on her calendar.
"Are you going to come home anytime between now and then?"
"Maybe. Dickie and Liz have that Christmas play thing next weekend, remember? Mom wants me to come to that."
"Yeah, that would be nice," said Elliot, signing the receipt. They rose from the table.
"Thanks for dinner, Dad," said Maureen. "Nice to see you, Olivia."
Olivia smiled. "Good luck with your exams."
Elliot hugged Maureen again and rubbed her upper arms. "You should be wearing more clothes," he said. "You're going to freeze on the way home. Be careful."
She rolled her eyes and laughed. "I'll be fine, Dad." They headed outside and parted ways with another round of goodbyes. Maureen braced herself against the wind as she walked to the subway entrance. This time she had to wait a few minutes for her train, and she thought about her dad while she stood on the platform.
He was so protective, and always had been, she reflected. Especially of her, even more than Kathleen or the twins. When she was younger it had really been a pain, because it had been such a struggle to get any freedom. She knew part of it was being the oldest, but when she was about sixteen Kathy had pointed out that Elliot also couldn't help remembering how he'd felt about her when they were teenagers, and he figured boys were looking at Maureen, who looked so much like her mother, the same way.
He was probably right, she thought, although by now she knew she wasn't going to end up like them, stuck with a surprise baby before they even realized they'd arrived at the doorstep of adulthood.
Some of it had to be his job, she thought as she stepped onto the train and sat down in the orange plastic seat. A lot of her friends thought it was cool that her father was a police detective instead of something boring, but she read the papers – she knew some of the sick things Elliot was probably seeing every day.
Once during her senior year in high school she and her dad had been watching the news and there had been a top story about a serial rapist her dad's department had just caught, finally, in the park. They showed some pictures of some of his victims, including one young woman who was blonde and smiling. Maureen had been wishing the news would get to the weather because she had outside plans with her boyfriend for the weekend when she realized Elliot was staring down at her. She had been sitting with her head against his shoulder, and he was examining her face, his body tense. As Maureen left the subway station near her dorm, she remembered that she had laughed and made a joke about how he was creeping her out. But she still thought about it a lot.